Wallboard



y 14, 9 .1. T. KENNEY 2.200.750

WALL-BOARD Filed June l5, 1938 I 26heets-Shet 1 lNV-ENTOR:

JAMES T. KENNEY AT TORND wALLBoARn Filqd June 15, 1933 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR:

JAMES Tf KENNEY ATTGRNEY Patented May 14, 1940 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE 2,200,750 WALLBOARD James T. Kenney, Antioch, Calif.

Application June 15,1938, Serial No. 213,815 0 3 Claims. (Cl. 721-16 0 This invention relates to improvements in wallboards and, more particularly, to composite plaster boards and the method of applying such boards to the walls of buildings.

Among'the objects of the invention is to enable the production of a continuous wall surface,

pound which constitutes the body of the wallboard.

Another object is to obviate the necessity for trimming the edges of wallboards during manufacture with the incidental waste of labor and material.

Another object is to provide substantial homogeneity in the material immediately underlying the facing paper of the wallboard in order to minimize superficial surface streaks and irregular discolorations due to differences in the moisture adsorptivities, expansion coefficients, etc, of

the underlying layer.

Another object is to provide a wallboard which is capable of being satisfactorily installed'by home owners themselves, and other unskilled labor.

Another object is to provide a wallboard having the hereinbefore mentioned advantages at substantially the cost of the ordinary plaster board in use heretofore.

Other objects and advantages will appear as this specification progresses.

In this specification and the accompanying drawings, the invention is described in its preferred form. It is to be understood, however, that it may be embodied in other form within the purview of the claims following the description.

In the two sheets of drawings:

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of the upper portion of a joint between two composite plaster boards constructed in accordance with this inventionat the completion of. the operation of the nailing of the plaster boards to the studding of the building, the adjoining margins of the facing paper being curled back to expose the underlying material strips of the composite boards for nailing.

Fig. 2 is a similar fragmentary view of the same "withthe margins of the facing paper lapped over each other preparatory to the severing thereof.

Fig. 3 is a similar view of the same subsequent to the severing and gluing operations. 0 Fig. 4 is a horizontal section in somewhat reduced scale of the wallboard construction illustrating the nailing strips intermediate the margins of the wallboard.

Fig. 5 is an enlarged fragmentary horizontal section showing a modified form of intermediate nailing strip structure,

. Figs. 6 and 7 are front elevations of modified formsof marginal nailing strips.

In ,detail, the construction illustrated in the drawings comprises the sheet I, of "building paper or' similar strong, thin -material. The marginal nailing strips 2, 3 and the intermediate nailing strips 4 are preferably composed of laminated wood or the like. Because of the narrow width of thenailing strip and the fact that they are completely concealed in the ultimate product, they can be formed from the trimmings and other rejects of the laminated wood industry.

Either organic or mineral glue, as desired, is applied toboth sides of the intermediate strips 4 and to one side of the marginal strips 2, 3. The opposite side of the marginal strips 2, 3 has the glued area, as at 5. The remainder of the surface of the strips 2, 3 adjoining the area 5 is left unglued for reasons to be later discussed.

The strips 2, 3 and 4 are laid longitudinally with their completely glued sides down on the sheet i. coincide with the spacing of the studding in the conventional building, which is usually 16 inches. A suitable plaster compound, such as is conventional in the art of plaster wallboard, is poured on to the sheet I into the spacing between the strips 2, 3 and 4, as at 6. Asheet I of paper They are spaced apart a distance to is then laid over the central nailing strip and the intermediate wet plaster. The edges 8 and 9 of the sheet I extend slightly beyond the marginal strips 2, 3. The sheet I may be of paper similar to the sheet I, or it may be suitably finished in any desired manner, as by stippling, to serve as the final wall surface. 1

. Pressure is applied to the now assembled wallboard by passing it between suitable rolls, or by compressing it in a suitable press. The moisture exudes from the plaster between the sheets i and I and the glued surfaces of the strips 2, 3, and 4, thus cementing these strips to the enclosing sheets. Should the plaster compound containa suflicient quantity of a'mineral cement such as water glass (sodium silicate), the preliminary gluing ofthe strips 2-4 may be omitted, since the waterglass will then serve to cement the strips to the opposing sheets.

If desired, the intermediate nailing strip 4 may be thinner than the marginal strips 2, 3, as at la: in Fig. 5. The plaster will then flow over the strips 41 as at lax, inter-posing a layer of plaster between the strips 41: and the sheet I. This provides a layer of homogeneous material behind the facing sheet I for practically the whole width of the wallboard, thus providing substantially uniformity of coloration of the sheet 8 throughout the life of the wallboard.

.Subsequent to the pressing of the wallboard, it

is dried and otherwise processed in accordance with the well known technique in this art.

The marginal strips 2, 3 preferably have the dove tail edges l0, H, as in Fig. 1, although curvilinear or straight edges 10x, Hm, or in, Hart, as in Figs. 6 and 7 respectively, may be substituted.

The marginal strips 2, 3 provided by the present invention serve as the finished edges of the wallboard, thus eliminating the necessity for trimming the edges of the wallboard during manufacture with the incidental wastage of labor and materials.

In installing the wallboard, the edges 1, and 8 of the facing sheet I are curled back,'as in Fi 1, to expose the strips 2, 3 for nailing. This is rendered possible by leaving the surface of the strips 2, 3 adjacent the area 5 unglued in the fabrication of the wallboard, as above described. The composite board is nailed to the frame of the building by means of the finishing nails I21, which 'are driven through the nailing strips 2, 3 into the studding 1:. Since the nails are not driven through the friable plaster slab 8, large fiat head nails are not required, and the number of nails necessary is relatively small.

Small finishing nails are also driven through the intermediate nailing strips 4 which register with the studs 11, z of the building frame. The heads of these nails are easily concealed by putty or similar material. Theadjoining wallboards have their dove-tail edges i0, ll interlocked with the dove-tail edges Ill, ll of the marginal nailing strips 2, 3 of the wallboard already installed.

They are then similarly nailed to the studding. 1

When the wallboards are in place, the curledbackmargins 8, 9 of the facing sheet are overlapped as in Fig. 2. The overlapped portions are then severed by a single incision of a knife or other sharp instrument, as at A. The cut-away material is then removed, as in Fig. 3, bringing the severed edges 8, 9, 9' into abutment. It is not necessary that the severing at A be accom plished along a straightline, since the edges 8, 9' will nevertheless be in abutment provided the incision at A is clean,

After the severing operatic the margins are glued over the strips 2, 3. concealing the nails l2 and leaving only an almost invisible seam.

Having thus described this invention, what I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent is: l. A wallboard comprising a slab of friable material; marginal nailing strips of substantially facing sheet being adapted to overlap the edges I of .the facing sheet of anadjoining wallboard.

2. A wallboard comprising a slabof friable material between two sheets. of fibrous material; and marginal nailing strips of material having nailing characteristics superior to those of said slab and fixed to the opposite edges of said slab in substantially the plane thereof, the edges of said nailing strips being arranged to interlock with the edges of the nailing strips of adjoining wallboards.

3. A wallboard comprising a slab of friable material; marginal wooden nailing strips fixed to the opposite edges of said slab in substantially the plane thereof, the edges of said nailing strips being arranged to interlock with the edges of the nailing strips of adjoining wallboards; a backing sheet of fibrous material adhering to the rear surface of said slab and strips; and a facing sheet of flexible material adhering to the front surface of said slab and strips, the edges of said facing sheet being adapted to overlap the edges of th facing sheet of an adjoining wallboard.

' JAMES T. KENNEY. 

